Im considering getting a Tracker for my Z and was wondering if anyone can advise one to me ?? I know RAC do one but are there any certain ones better over others??? :smash:

Read up on the GTR board and alike, most say they are a waste of cash due to most police forces not having the ability to track cars, as their local budget wouldnt stretch to buying the hardware :rolleyes:

really !!!!! cant believe it , what a con then !! any alternatives then worth knowing ???

 

At the mo i have a clifford concept 650, with proximety sensors, Glass break sensors , Turbo timer in auxillary channel, Auto window wind-up and remote boot unlock ??

Read up on the GTR board and alike, most say they are a waste of cash due to most police forces not having the ability to track cars, as their local budget wouldnt stretch to buying the hardware :rolleyes:

 

 

And yet each police force has the money to pay for a dozen speed cameras which cost a couple of thousand of pounds each.

I've had various trackers on my car and one thing to look out for is that they are "bureau monitored". What this means is that they monitor the car 24/7 and if it is moved (ie stolen) without your consent then (1) they track the vehicle, (2) contact you to confirm the car is stolen, (3) ask you to obtain a crime reference number, (4) inform the local police force and direct them in real-time to the location of the car. This costs considerably more than the "standard" trackers where you, the owner, needs to inform the tracking company that the car has been stolen. The above procedure then kicks in. Systems like Lo-jack rely on the local police force having suitably equiped vehicles to track and locate stolen vehicles - like what Chris said.

 

Tracking devices in general work on gsm frequencies. Put the car in an underground garage or go through a long tunnel and it won't be possible to track it. More sophisticated systems use both GPS and GSM signals and are by far the prefered method. The system I've currenly got uses this technology and this also allows the car to be tracked when I'm using it on the continent (so long as the gsm unit can "roam").

 

There are some products on the market which allows the owner to track the vehicle on a PC/Laptop. The software relays the vehicles position, speed and direction of travel every 30 seconds and displays it on a streetlevel map on your PC. Although this is a good system in general, there are two problems (1) it isn't insurance approved, and (2) they tend to be gsm based which uses triangulation techniques to get speed and direction of travel info. As soon as the car falls out of range of one of three transmission towers it becomes impossible to "fix" a location and the car may "disappear" from the screen for any period of time (same for if it is driven into a concrete building like a carpark).

 

One system I've recently been given details of is from TrafficMaster. Aparently, their satnav system has a build-in tracking device which uses all of TrafficMaster's sensors (the blue sensors placed along most major roads) to monitor the car. Haven't been given pricing but this seems a good system from a well established company.

 

I'm sorry if the above seems long-winded but its worth shopping around forearmed with as much information you can possibly get your hands on.

 

Good luck!

 

Dan

Further to what I've written above, I have just found a new tracker unit at my local Maplin store. The product number is A24BT on maplin's website. Costs £199 for the unit with a further anual tracking subscription and anual gsm subscription cost. I've just been into my local Maplin's for something completely unrelated and bumped into this product. It appears to be a GPS/GSM based system which allows the user to track their vehicle through the internet. I have no idea if it is insurance approved (my guess is "no") but for £199 you can't really go wrong.

 

Cheers,

 

Dan

If you want a tracking device, then fit a genuine Tracker IMO. they have the best/fastest recovery rate of all :)

Read up on the GTR board and alike, most say they are a waste of cash due to most police forces not having the ability to track cars, as their local budget wouldnt stretch to buying the hardware :rolleyes:

 

 

Tracker pay for and install the Tracking devices in the police cars, it doesn`t come out of the police budget.

GPS units are crap, cover the car and you have lost yout signal. The Tracker unit has an aerial which can transmit a signal upto 20 miles.

 

Bob

If you want a tracking device, then fit a genuine Tracker IMO. they have the best/fastest recovery rate of all :)

 

 

Agreed, if you value your car, then go for a known one ie rac

no need to rely on the police as the rac do all the tracking and inform them/you if car is moved, if your one of those who swop the car every year etc may not be worth it, as it is car related and if you swop, you have to pay,

 

or if you intend keeping the car for a good few years then a "lifetime" (or as long as you own it) subscription is available

 

unlike the police:( they are monitored 24 hours a day, and unlike the police

they return the car when found

why havent all regional forces got the hardware then ?

All 52 counties have the ability to recover a vehicle fitted with tracker, aswell as France and parts of Spain.

i had toad inovations fit my tracker @£300+£115per year subscription

If you want a tracking device, then fit a genuine Tracker IMO. they have the best/fastest recovery rate of all :)

 

 

Thats the one I got. Not had to use it yet thank god !!

not worth a"blow in a rag mans balloon",my mate had one and when his van got stolen the cops did nt give a toss,answed him with"we get so many we would be all over the country". bought a g.t.o with one fitted and got about 30 letters askin for new driver details and a fresh subscribtion,my mate never got one fvkin off them or his van back------make your own mind up but me.NAH

Not all tracking devices need the police to recover them. The RAC one relies on satellite and GPRS connectivity and is available in "always on" or "passive" options - depnding on price. In 1999 the GTROC had seven cars stolen in a 12 month window by a group of organised criminals. Only two were ever recovered. One, because it was a very rare colour and was spotted parke outside someone's house (the porr unfortunate buyer had to hand it back). the other had an RAC Trackstar fitted. None of the other cars were ever recovered